


Movie Night

by Wishweaver



Category: The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: CCPD Interruption, Family Drama, Family Feels, Gen, Movie Night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 13:21:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11990670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wishweaver/pseuds/Wishweaver
Summary: Movie night in Joe West's household came from humble beginnings.Joe liked to joke—call it an inspired flash of brilliance—but in all fairness, it had been a last-ditch, Hail Mary effort to do something, anything, to connect with the traumatized little boy he suddenly had guardianship of, and help one Bartholomew Henry Allen adjust and feel welcome in his new home.





	Movie Night

**Author's Note:**

> This fic started out as a prologue for "Night Out." I removed it because it seemed to put too much focus on Barry's case, and West family friction, neither of which were the point of that story.
> 
> I notice how Movie Night seems to be a staple in the Flash 2014 universe. I like to think Joe West stumbled upon what a powerful tool it could be in getting to know someone. Again, this is set when during Season 2 when Joe is trying to get to know Wally. He figures, it worked once, what's the harm in trying for two out of two? Too bad the CCPD has an abysmal sense of timing. Hope you enjoy. :-)

Movie Night

Movie night in Joe West's household came from humble beginnings.

Joe liked to joke—call it an inspired flash of brilliance—but in all fairness, it had been a last-ditch, Hail Mary effort to do something, _anything_ , to connect with the traumatized little boy he suddenly had guardianship of, and help one Bartholomew Henry Allen adjust and feel welcome in his new home.

Happily for all involved, movie night had been a rousing success. So much so, that it had grown into a cherished family tradition, surviving the stress and crazy hours of his law enforcement career and Iris and Barry's maturation from pre-teens to young adults.

The frequency had become more irregular in recent years—the meet-up goal decreasing from its once a week heyday to a few times a month at best—but they had a standing goal of at least once a month that they guarded jealously and made it happen as often as their combined schedules allowed.

 _Nights like tonight,_ Joe thought, as he rubbed his hands together surveying the kitchen and living room. Everything was ready for movie night. Neither he nor Barry was specifically on call, Iris had just finished a big assignment, and Central City was enjoying an unusual lull in metahuman and plain old criminal activity. The pizza order had been placed, extra pillows and blankets were waiting on the couch and Joe himself had already changed into comfortable clothes. Now he was just waiting for his kids to arrive.

All three of them.

 _Three._ Joe smiled, still savoring the thrill of that. He couldn’t love Iris and Barry any more if he tried, but there was something special about a son— _his_ son—a boy who could pass the West name along to the next generation when the time came.

Assuming he decided to give the current generation a chance, of course.

Sighing, Joe wandered back into the kitchen. He and Francine had both made poor choices in the name of protecting the children they loved. They had both been too hurt and scared and stubborn to give the other parent a chance with the precious lives they’d created together and now they were all dealing with the consequences.

Hence, movie night.

Joe knew he was expecting a lot. There were no guarantees of success; he’d been a cop long enough to know that. Wally was older, harder, and slower to trust than eleven year old Barry had been, but movie night had proven surprisingly effective in creating inroads between Barry, Iris, and himself.

Every week they took turns choosing the take out dinner, the movies, and the snacks. In doing so they learned each other’s tastes and preferences without anyone saying a word. Joe hadn’t asked Wally to bring anything this time around, but he found himself hoping against hope that movie night would work its magic for another angry, hurting boy, and help build a foundation of love, trust and safety for him like it had for Barry all those years ago.

A key in the back door broke Joe’s train of thought then he smiled broadly at his daughter, taking the grocery bags full of snacks she brought, and pulling her into a welcoming hug. Iris normally brought brownies or some other sweet when she was in charge of snacks, but tonight she’d brought an assortment.

Joe poked through the bags, noting with amusement that his baby girl didn’t do anything by halves. She had most of the common snack families covered, from popcorn and chips to cookies and ice cream. He was just moving to put the ice cream in the freezer when a quick rap sounded and the door opened again, revealing the young man he thought of as his older son.

“Barry!” Iris caught him in a hug and made a show of checking the time because Barry was _early._ Joe felt a warm rush at that. Barry really was trying. When they’d first learned about Wally, he’d worried that Barry might distance himself or question his place in the family but the opposite had been true. Barry had seemed honestly delighted at the thought of another West child and Joe couldn’t have been more grateful for the solidarity and support, he provided—for him and Iris both—especially during those first trying weeks.

Unfortunately Wally was not fully on board with that sentiment. Not yet, anyway. He was angry at the world in general, and Joe and Francine in particular, and seemed to hold a king sized grudge against Barry for growing up in his father’s household. Iris was the only person Wally was giving a chance—possibly seeing her as a fellow victim in the soap opera their lives had become—but even their interactions were far from frictionless.

Stifling a frustrated sigh, Joe divested Barry of his bags and pulled him into a hug of his own. Barry hadn’t spent as much time with Wally because he could sense the tension and knew he was part of the reason for Wally’s prickly attitude. Joe and Iris had allowed him to skip out on the initial meetings and spent part of their time with Wally trying to talk Barry up as the wonderful person he was, but so far the tactic hadn’t been effective.

They’d both insisted Barry _had_ to come to Wally’s first movie night, however, because the only way they were going to get to know one another and come together as a family was to be around each other.

“I couldn’t remember if it was my turn to bring movies or snacks,” Barry admitted, rummaging through his food bags once Joe released him and handing over a few things requiring refrigeration. “I didn’t know what Wally liked so I might have gone a little overboard with...everything,” he continued, waving a nervous hand at the bags that held a snack selection similar to Iris’s and more movies than they’d be able to view in a week. “Caitlin and Cisco even contributed a few of their favorite things before they left for the evening, so hopefully there’s _something_ in there he’ll like.”

“I’m sure there is,” Joe assured with fond amusement. It never ceased to amaze him how Barry could remember a vast number of facts—could  recite the _periodic table_ for Pete’s sake—but simple tasks like setting an alarm or keeping track of what he’d last contributed to movie night were sometimes beyond him. Then again his boy had always been highly distractible—his mind always seeming to go 400 directions at once—a trait that had gotten both better and worse since the lightning.

“No one’s watching the comms?” Iris asked, bringing Joe back to the present with a bump. Barry shrugged.

“Harry’s there. He almost begged us to go. Said he’d call everyone in if something really needs attention, but we haven’t had a lot to do the last few nights. I’ve been running around looking for cats up trees and random muggers,” Barry explained. “I feel like I might have jinxed it by giving Caitlin and Cisco the evening off, but they deserve a break, too.”

“That they do,” Joe agreed, eyeing the impressive spread of snack food left on the counter. “I’m almost afraid to say it, but we’ll have to come up with another job since there’ll be four of us now.”

He didn’t miss the quick look Barry and Iris shared, but was grateful they didn’t choose to comment. Wally hadn’t done himself any favors by blowing off the first family dinner he was invited to. Joe got that, but raising Iris and Barry had taught him a lot about kids acting out in anger and testing limits. Wally was dealing with a lot—college, a dying mother, and now a father and two siblings he didn’t know existed dropped in his lap. Joe would frankly be amazed if they were seeing him at his best. He wouldn’t allow the blatant disrespect to continue indefinitely, but he was willing to grant Wally a little leeway for now.

“I guess we could add drinks to the list of things to bring instead of always expecting you to provide them,” Iris finally suggested, surprising Joe since she’d made no bones about her disapproval of Wally’s behavior and Joe’s supposed tolerance of it.

Barry grimaced and nodded his agreement. “We probably should have started doing that a long time ago. Sorry, Joe, I didn’t think. It’s just always been that way.”

Joe waved them off with a smile. “Habits, kids, I know them well. And drinks? Sure, they’re a good fourth job candidate, but don’t ever think you don’t do your share. Even in the beginning, both of you voluntarily chipped in part of your pocket money, remember? Wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I was so humbled and proud. So make me proud again and be patient with Wally, all right? He’s having a hard time right now.”

Barry, of course, was the first one to agree. “Whatever you need, Joe,” he assured with a smile, and Joe found himself grateful all over again for his older son’s sweet nature—even more so when Iris sniffed and added, “for now.”

Joe sighed, but didn’t bother to plead his case. He _was_ letting Wally get away with a lot more than he would have _ever_ tolerated from her or Barry back in the day. He just felt a little out of his depth, like he was walking on eggshells around the boy.

 _And speak of the devil…_ “Wally!” he said, opening the door when he saw his son approach through the back door windows.

Wally held up a stack of three DVDs in what Joe guessed was a modified wave hello. “I brought some movies. Can we get started? I have someplace to be later tonight.”

“We usually have dinner first, but it is early. I guess we could wait and eat after the first movie,” Joe said, glancing between Iris and Barry. “Bear, I called in a pizza order at Tony’s.”

“On it,” Barry said, pulling out his cell phone.

“Well I want a snack before dinner then. I skipped lunch to get my assignment finished,” Iris said, reaching for a plate and the package of brownies Barry brought. “Here, Wally, pick something else to dish up,” she instructed, handing him a bowl and breaking off with a groan at the sound of a cell phone on vibrate. “Looks like CCPD Ruin Movie Night is alive and well,” she groused, crossing her arms while Wally frowned beside her.

“It’s not me,” Joe said, holding up his phone to demonstrate. “Maybe it’s CCP _N_ Ruin Movie Night,” he teased, as Iris frowned and unzipped her purse.

“Don’t bother, it’s me,” Barry said, holding up his phone. Joe couldn’t see the number, but when Barry answered with a crisp “Allen,” and headed for the living room he knew the call was work related. _Dammit!_ Joe knew it was hypocritical since he’d been the one walking out the door far more often than Barry had, but that didn’t mean he liked having the tables turned on him.

“Soooo, what’s happening?” Wally asked, radiating impatience once Barry was out of sight. “Is he leaving? Are we cancelling? This is bogus! I came all the way from Keystone because you said you were all off tonight!” 

“Simmer down,” Joe said, holding out his hands. “Nobody’s officially on call, but when you’re needed, you’re needed. Let’s just wait until we know what’s going on. Barry may just have to answer some questions.”

“Oh, please. If it’s CSI Frogman from County you know Barry will have to go in,” Iris scoffed. “He can’t science his way out of a paper bag.”

“Barry’s helping CSI _Krogmann_ with some high profile cases,” Joe explained to a still disgruntled Wally, while giving Iris an admonishing look. “And besides, I seem to recall you and Barry having movie night without me a time or two when I got called in.”

“Not by choice,” Iris grumbled before relenting. “But yeah, I guess starting without him is an option. Waiting for him to finish whatever he needs to do and starting a little later is an option, too.”

Wally crossed his arms and made a dismissive noise. “No way! I have other commitments. And besides I haven’t seen him around lately. For all you know your charity case is trying to ditch.”

Iris sucked in an insulted breath but Joe silenced her with a look and put a firm hand on Wally’s shoulder, turning him toward the counter.

“First, Iris and _Barry,_ ” he said firmly, “went out of their way to bring a selection of snacks over because they don’t know your preferences yet. Second, I don’t think Barry had ditching in mind when he hauled all these DVD’s over for you to choose from. Finally, Iris is my daughter; you and Barry are my sons. Movie night is a family tradition we enjoy and we’d like you to be part of. It’s as simple as that.” For a second he thought he saw indecision and maybe a bit of shame in Wally’s eyes, then Barry re-entered and the tough mask fell again.

“That was Krogmann,” Barry said, answering the question no one asked. “The M.E.’s office found something that may change the ruling on one of the cases County’s been screaming for. I tried to put them off until morning, but they insisted I had to come now since it’s technically still ‘business hours.’ Oh, and your order from Tony’s is already on its way. ETA is 20 or 25 minutes…” He trailed off with a frown, looking at the three Wests. “Is everything all right?”

“Fine, Barry,” Joe said. “We were just talking about snacks and movies.”

“Oh, okay,” Barry said, looking unconvinced, but not pushing.

“Do you want us to wait?“ Joe asked, stopping when Barry shook his head and held up a hand.

“Go ahead and start. It shouldn’t take long, but I honestly have no idea what I’m about to get tangled up in. I’ll text if I’ve misjudged the time, but I should be there and back in about an hour. An hour and thirty minutes tops.”

Iris nodded reluctant acceptance, picking up the plate of brownies and steering Wally into the living room while Joe walked Barry to the door.

“The trip to County won’t take long. They think I’m coming from the precinct so my getting there fast won’t cause suspicion. I’ll just have to be gone long enough to make my trip seem reasonable to Wally.”

Joe nodded, not liking the artificial delay, but seeing no way around it. “I guess you can do a quick Flash run around town to kill some time,” he suggested. Barry nodded his agreement.

“Blowing off some steam afterwards will probably help me be good company again,” he admitted. “I’m sorry, Joe. I know you wanted us all here tonight.”

“Don’t you worry about it,” Joe said, hugging Barry close again. “With luck this movie night will be the first of many. Go do what you need to do. We’ll be here when you get back.”


End file.
